The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing disposable garments such as training underpants for infant, incontinence underpants and so-called sanitary underpants.
It is well known, for example, from the techniques as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Disclosure Gazettes Nos. 1982-77304 and 1982-117602 to form such garments by providing at least one of respective single continuous inner and outer webs with elastic members for leg-openings and for a waist-opening, intermittently placing absorbent cores between said inner and outer webs longitudinally thereof so as to form a continuous laminate and cutting said laminate transversely thereof along predetermined lines.
According to the conventional methods for manufacturing such articles inclusive of the above-identified prior art, a continuous laminate is folded in two and then heat sealed along the locations corresponding to lateral side edges of individual articles as put on users, in order to form front and rear bodies of the individual articles.
With the above-mentioned prior art, however, it has been difficult to fold the continuous laminate in a neat manner even though the folding is performed as the continuous laminate is being kept taut, because the continuous laminate to be folded in two includes the elastic members for the leg-openings and for the waist-opening which are ready to contract. In other words, the individual articles are susceptible to partial floating, development of wrinkles and misalignment of front and rear bodies while the laminate is heat sealed. As a result the individual articles tend to have less neat appearance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing disposable garments wherein outer webs are provided with elastic members for the leg-openings as well as for the waist-opening, on one hand, and inner members having inner webs and cores are folded in two, on the other hand, and thereby the above-mentioned drawbacks are overcome.
In order to achieve the object set forth above the present invention comprises a preparation of inner members by attaching absorbent cores to inner webs at predetermined spacings longitudinally of the inner webs. Each of the inner members is folded in two along its center line so that one half of the core is located on a first outer surface of the inner web and the other half is located on a second outer surface of the inner web which is opposite to said first outer surface.
On the other hand each of two continuous outer webs having a sufficient width to cover said first and second outer surfaces is provided in pre-determined areas with elastic members for leg-openings as well as waist-openings.
Said pre-determined areas of said outer members provided with said elastic members are placed on said first and second outer surfaces of said inner members to form continuous laminate.
Said continuous laminate is cut after successive sealing at pre-determined areas thereof.
The present invention makes it possible to prepare the individual inner members free from adversely effects of contracting force of the elastic members for the leg-openings and waist-openings during operation of folding, since the outer webs are provided with the elastic members for the leg-openings and waist-openings and the inner members having the inner webs and the cores are folded in two. Consequently, the previously mentioned defective features resulting in partial floating, development of wrinkles and misalignment of front and rear bodies is effectively overcome and desired neat appearance of the individual articles is acquired.
In a preferred embodiment preformed absorbent cores keep themselves from getting out their initial shapes during the operation folding of the inner members.